Some companies have all the luck. While Google's green Android robot sits on the sidelines, Apple gets to send two of its iPhone 4 handsets into space with the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

The iPhones were approved for the flight and will have the SpaceLab for iOS app installed on them. They will be used in four experiments to test the performance of the phone's gyroscope and sensors in this weightless condition.

This isn't a publicity stunt or a way to entertain the crew. Odyssey Space Research, the company behind the SpaceLab app, wants to use the data to design iPhone-assisted navigation systems for future spacecraft. Now , that's cool. [VentureBeat]